A Means of Revelation

It should not surprise us that some of our dreams are distinctively spiritual.  We may be accustomed to having to work with our dreams, pondering over their meaning, and sorting through layers of images and symbols before we can recognize and affirm the spiritual dimensions of these nocturnal messages.  But, it also true that the spiritual meaning is so powerfully clear that it is overwhelming to our senses.  Such was surely true for Jacob as he watched angels descending and ascending on a ladder that touched both earth and heaven (Genesis 28:12).  And most assuredly, such was true of Joseph as he was visited by an angel from the Lord. (Matthew 1:20)    

As a preacher I must confess to those moments of preaching in my dream life.  The sermons I preached were always stirring and seem to flow endlessly.  The only problem was not being able to remember them when the clock sounded by the bedside.  I have known of dreamers who report dreaming of praying as they sleep and of being so caught up in a spirit of praise that they woke up with the praise sounding in their hearts upon their lips.  There seems to be no question that the Spirit can work in amazing ways with a mind and heart that is totally abandoned and vulnerable to the holy power.    

One of the important things to know about our dreams is that they are not to be dismissed.  Someone has said that a dream not interpreted is like a book not read.  Over the years I have come to understand and believe the reality of what the writer was trying to say to those of us who were reading what he had come to know in his personal life.  God is eager to make Himself known.  He may exist in an invisible spiritual dimension, but it is His desire to reveal Himself to us in so many ways and surely one of those ways is through the dream life with which He has gifted us.